(This saga takes the reader into the state of Texas during the Civil War era. The story is told by Ralph Hendricks of what he remembers about his family as a boy and lawman. Names are changed to protect the innocent.) Story. Twenty-seven years had slipped by since the Civil War ended, sending my three brothers' home without a scratch. Since then, my parents were deceased, and the estate was ours to share and enjoy. Matt, my oldest brother, had now reached the age where he gave the responsibility to his oldest son, Elliot, named after a dear friend of the family. Elliot was wise with a college degree. His goal was to make the ranch more profitable, but he wanted nothing more but to raise cattle and show a profit each year. Despite what Paul, my son, thought toward raising cotton and hedging the textile market, the vote was in favor of Elliot's' ideas of learning more about the habitat of other breeds of cattle. Cattle had been our lifeline when poppa came home from fighting the Mexicans and from the looks of things our ranch would stay the same.The Source of sharing the profits with all of us was our savings for retirement, if I lived to reach the mark. Sometimes being law enforcement created doubt especially, learning about others killed in the line of duty. My mind was captivated with Doolin's actions and if he would chance leaving his hiding place and come our way. I must admit, Clark's warnings had much of my attention. I had never dealt with gangs before and hardly any lawbreakers. They were only stories and other officers' dealings but mostly hearsay. At spring roundup, I had help from my sons, I must say they did well at finding newborn calves and getting them to the main herd. Days later, things were set in motion for branding. Sometimes, I was amazed at how our herd had grown and it made me think about my son's future. Many questions plagued my mind toward progress and how the state of Texas was growing. Most of our youth were getting a good education and their parents I had gone to school with were now gloating with pride of accomplishment. Although, my son. Paul lost his hope toward raising cotton and the desire to better our farming community, I could tell somewhere within his mind, it still existed. However, it would be yet something to consider. As the year of 1893 seemed to ease by, my thoughts toward Doolin and gang activity also vanished when receiving news about the man. Oklahoma turned out not to be safe heaven for him at all. The town of Ingalls got a surprise visit from 14 U.S. Marshals causing a fight with the gang still spoke about for years. Clark's message brought sadness but also a measure of gladness. Three marshals lost their lives along with two innocent bystanders. Doolin now added more charges to his actions when killing Marshal Richard Speed however, three gang members also wounded and captured allowing Doolin and others to escape. My thoughts rushed toward my brother's words about doubting they would come in our direction, but in my line of work, a person never knows.

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